Mikeyman104

Ended up going to owasco last Friday 11/6. First year with riggers and never fished this late in the year so wasn't really sure what to expect. Greeted by a chilly morning with more chop than I was expecting, but boy it turned out to be a beautiful day. Me and a buddy ran a couple of riggers and two inline boards for most the day but was pretty slow going. Got one laker 60 down over 80 and a pretty steelhead on an inline board with 5 colors of leadcore and a Rapala on it. Laker thought some cowbells and gambler rig looked good that day. Buddy kept the laker for dinner but we released the steelhead. Sounds like spoons are more common in the fall, and tried some for a bit, but I threw on what had worked in the summer for me. Definitely a learning experience but was just happy to get out in great weather. Was weird getting a bit of a sun burn in November [emoji38]. Came home and put the riggers away for the season, so just wanted to say thanks to all on this site for the posts and comments. Would have been completely lost without following this site. Sent from my SM-A515U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Was thinking of traying to get out this weekend too. Do folks still use riggers this time of year for around creeks and river mouths or is it more boards? Heck, can you cast stick baits around them and pick up fish? I have never fished this time of year down there, but was thinking of giving Owasco a go if water levels allow a launch.

Got out for a bit this morning. Greeted by stronger winds than I was expecting, but picked up a handful of good keepers with a couple perch hitting 12". Also got a surprise with a beast of a bowfin that weighed 7lbs. Was hoping it was a smallie, but it was a heck of time fighting it with ultra lite tackle. Just west of the islands again but a bit closer to the channel this time. Sent from my SM-A515U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

The ones I got on Sunday were in about 14.5 FOW.

Yeah, I could see that. Some of the fat heads were pretty good size and they seemed to get some better quality fish. One thing I found interesting was that one of the larger perch I cleaned had a smaller goby in him. Make sense that they eat them, I just had never seen it before.

Went out yesterday in front of the islands and boy what a beauty of a day. Once you found the right spot, there were tons of perch in there hitting the fatheads, but had to catch about 10 smalls to get 1 good one. Either way tons of fun because once your dropped your bait in the water you had a fish. Heck, was able to get a picture of some dinks hitting my split shots at the surface there were so many. Good day all around. Sent from my SM-A515U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Spent the day on Otisco. Was fortunate enough to get my first muskie. Tight lines for your trip this weekend Sent from my SM-A515U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Dan, I'm in a similar situation as you. Currently got a 16' but am looking to upsize eventually too. Due to this, I keep an eye out for cuddy's and such and saw this one: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/391070011880426/. It's outside my budget and is a bit older style than you were looking for, but newer motor and kicker would make me feel more comfortable on the lake. Best of luck on the search!

Nice brown! That's a pretty fish

Think that's the same boat I reached out about on craigslist too [emoji38]. Nice rig and glad someone from LOU got it. Best of luck and glad you're getting back out there Sent from my SM-A515U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Awesome work man. I've enjoyed following this build and looks great so far. Just hope you're able to get it out and enjoy it soon [emoji38] Sent from my SM-A515U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Alternator would be nice but only have a little 4hp Yamaha 4 stroke kicker so not sure it would be possible Sent from my SM-A515U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

I agree. I try to be as safe as possible and do actually have two batteries on my boat. The one for the main motor, which was having issues, and one for my bow mounted trolling motor. On Saturday I just grabbed the bow mounted battery and hooked it up to the main to get back to the launch. Kinda a pain and if it got hairy quick it could be an issue. A switch is a good idea. Sent from my SM-A515U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Glad to hear everyone is safe. Hope you can get the boat you want and get back on the water. Just think: not much you could have done about hitting an unseen/unmarked object in the water but you did an awesome job making sure everyone was safe. Sent from my SM-A515U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Thanks for the feedback folks! Didn't know there was a difference and just thought a marine battery was a marine battery. Looked up the part number and looks like its a starting/cranking battery so that might be the issue? I'll give the water level a check too. Not sure of the age. It came with the boat when I got it two years ago. Thanks again! Sent from my SM-A515U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Over the weekend I took my boat out and the main motor, which runs off a single battery, starts right up fine. It runs for about 15 min to get to our spot and then i shut if off and run a kicker. After about 6 hours of fishing, and running a helix 5 and 2 electric big jons off the same battery, the main motor will barely turn over from the same battery and not be able to start. I wouldn't think the riggers would drain a battery like that, but i'm not sure if it's a power consumption issue or if the battery is just getting old and needs replacing? Also, just had the battery on the charger at 2 amps for about 30 hours and its still not up to 100%. That typical as well?

Thanks! Still learning, but lots of fun. Saw you've been doing well there too! Seems to be a nice little fishery

Had a good day on Owasco yesterday. Trolled the east side of the lake and found pretty good action around 90ish feet. Ended up boating 11 lakers total, which is by far the best day trolling this noob has had yet. Between me and a buddy we ended up keeping 5. Biggest was around 5lbs and caught everything on a gambler death trap and some cowbells. Dont have a fish hawk but best surfice speed for us was around 2.4. Also a first for me was on two separate occasions we just set a line and put it in a rod holder and then immediately had a bite. That was pretty cool and all around fun day. Sent from my SM-A515U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

As Kevin said, the bass elite guys been drop shooting smallies with good results. Heard them say they were fishing anywhere from 10-40' hitting structure Sent from my SM-A515U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Thanks for the report. I've fished there a couple times and had similar results to what you posted above. Best I've ever done there is early summer and got into some gar. The place just looks and feels like it should do better. Sent from my SM-A515U using Lake Ontario United mobile app